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| {{Character infobox | | {{Character infobox |
| |variant= Hive | | |variant= Hive |
| |othernames= | | |othernames= The Traitor Mother |
| |image= | | |image= |
| |homeworld= [[Fundament]] | | |homeworld=[[Fundament]] |
| |birth= | | |birth= |
| |death= | | |death= |
| |species= [[Hive#Origins|Krill]] | | |species=Proto-[[Hive]] |
| |gender= Female | | |gender=Female |
| |height= | | |height= |
| |mass= | | |mass= |
| |hair= | | |hair= |
| |eyes= | | |eyes= |
| |affiliation= [[Osmium Court]] | | |affiliation=[[Osmium Court]] |
| |rank= Osmium-mother | | |rank=Osmium-mother |
| |class= | | |class= |
| |sn= | | |sn= |
| |notable= Tutor to the Osmium Heirs <br> Helium Drinkers' Regent of Osmium Court <br> Aided the Ammonites and Amiable Ecumene against the Hive | | |notable= |
| }} | | }} |
| {{Quote|I alone see the patterns of survival. [...] Alone I must act to save my kingdom.|Taox<ref name="Hateful">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#II: The Hateful Verse|II: The Hateful Verse]]''</ref>}}
| | '''Taox''' was a proto-[[Hive]] who once tutored the [[Osmium King]]'s three daughters, [[Xivu Arath|Xi Ro]], [[Savathûn|Sathona]], and [[Oryx, the Taken King|Aurash]]. |
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| '''Taox''' was a [[Hive#Origins|Krill]] female who once tutored the [[Osmium King]]'s three daughters, [[Xivu Arath, God of War|Xi Ro]], [[Savathûn, the Witch Queen|Sathona]], and [[Oryx, the Taken King|Aurash]]. She betrayed her King to save the [[Osmium Court]]'s people from extinction, in doing so unwittingly dooming her entire species to slavery by driving the exiled heirs to seek out the [[Worm Gods]].<ref name="TTK">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]]''</ref> | |
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| She is the only known survivor of the original Krill, having avoided Worm symbiosis completely, and managed to evade the Hive through their long crusade. Oryx considered her to be of little importance.<ref name="Insight">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness#Calcified Fragments: Insight|Calcified Fragments: Insight]]''</ref>
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| ==Biography== | | ==Biography== |
| ===Fundament===
| | Taox was a sterile Mother and consequently fortunate to have a longer lifespan than most members of her species. She became the teacher of the royal offspring of the Osmium Court, a floating continent on the gas giant [[Fundament]], a trusted position. When the Osmium King's mind began to crumble from senility and madness, Taox realized his death was imminent, and feared that all of his daughters were too wayward and weak to ascend to the Osmium Throne and rule effectively. Secretly, she invited the rival Helium Drinkers of the Helium Court to invade the Osmium Court, assassinate the royal family, and make her regent of the continent under the Helium King.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#II:_The_Hateful_Verse|II: The Hateful Verse]]''</ref> The Helium Drinkers subsequently invaded and killed the Osmium King, though the King's daughters managed to escape, vowing to one day return and take revenge on Taox for her treachery.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#III:_The_Oath|II: The Oath]]''</ref> |
| Taox was a sterile Krill Mother of the [[Osmium Court]], a floating continental nation of the Jovian [[Fundament]], and tutor to the royal offspring of the Osmium King. She also designed and built immense engines to move the continent from place to place.<ref name="Hateful"/> She instructed the last three daughters in the ways of governance, rulership, and the philosophy of the Timid Truth, and was held in high esteem by Xi Ro,<ref name="Predators">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#I: Predators|I: Predators]]''</ref> but feared for their individual weaknesses.<ref name="Hateful"/> Because of her sterility she was above petty political intrigue and could see the greater picture without distraction.<ref name="Hateful"/> | |
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| When the Osmium King's mind began to crumble due to his advanced age, Taox realized she could not put off the truth any longer. Her King was dying and had no suitable offspring left to lead their Court and protect them from the dangers of Fundament. She despaired over Xi Ro's inability to lead, Sathona's inability to fight, and Aurash's endless curiosity keeping her from the mundanities of rulership. In desperation she turned to the Osmium Court's enemies, the [[Helium Drinkers]], who had recently begun raiding them and exacting punishing tribute, and wrote a letter offering to sell her people's sovereignty in exchange for survival.<ref name="Hateful"/> The Drinkers accepted her request and invaded, killing the Osmium King, conquered the Osmium Court, and installed Taox as Regent; unfortunately, her three students escaped and fled into the depths of Fundament. The sisters swore vengeance,<ref name="Oath">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#III: The Oath|II: The Oath]]''</ref> with Xi Ro personally promising to slay the Traitor.<ref name="Syzygy">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#IV: Syzygy|IV: Syzygy]]''</ref><ref name="Dive">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#VII: The Dive|VII: The Dive]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#VIII: Leviathan|VIII: Leviathan]]''</ref> | |
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| For two years<ref name="Sisters">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#VI: Sisters|VI: Sisters]]''</ref> Taox ruled the Osmium Court for the Drinkers, presumably building them also a set of engines to move their continent in tandem with hers. When her three students returned as terrible conquerors, transformed by the [[Worm]]s into the first Hive,<ref name="Immortals">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#X: Immortals|X: Immortals]]''</ref> Taox rallied the survivors of both Osmium and Helium Courts and fought back as the Refusalists, eventually fleeing to the other continents of Fundament and gathering other reinforcements, but failed to stand against the inexorable advance of the Hive.<ref name="Conquerors">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XI: Conquerors|XI: Conquerors]]''</ref><ref name="Deep">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XII: Out of the Deep|XII: Out of the Deep]]''</ref> Taox and whomever else was with her took to outer space, fleeing amongst the fifty-two moons for sanctuary, and were granted asylum by the [[Ammonite]]s.<ref name="Fifty-Two">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XIV: 52 and One|XIV: 52 and One]]''</ref> She presumably provided tactical intelligence and information of her students, their motivations, and intentions, to the [[Ammonite Satellite Congress]], as the cephalopods were able to push the Hive forces all the way back to the sixth moon.<ref name="Born">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XV: Born As Prey|XV: Born As Prey]]''</ref> The [[Worm|Worm Gods]] told Auryx that Taox mocked him for his weakness.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XVII: The Weakness Verse|XVII: The Weakness Verse]]''</ref>
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| Taox's letter to the Helium Drinkers was later found and incorporated, or perhaps reproduced, in the [[Books of Sorrow]] during the Hive's conquest of Fundament. Savathûn later graffitied a notice into the Books themselves, saying they are full of lies.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLI: Dreadnaught|XLI: Dreadnaught]]''</ref> Either this is part of Savathûn's worm-driven oath to practice cunning and deceit, or Taox's letter and/or its exact contents as recorded in the Books were a forgery.
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| ===The Ecumene===
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| When the Ammonite civilization fell to Auryx, Taox put herself in cryo-stasis on a spaceship and fled the Fundament star system,<ref name="Crusaders">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XIX: Crusaders|XIX: Crusaders]]''</ref> eventually leaving the local galaxy entirely and, over twenty four thousand years later, came across the [[Amiable Ecumene]]. Mercenary explorers, working in the employ of the [[Dakaua Nest]], discovered her spacecraft and brought her to the attention of the [[Dakaua]] who promptly informed the Ecumene Crisis Council; there she provided intelligence again on the Hive and their commanders, who had already been waging war with them for the past century.<ref name="Dakaua">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXV: Dictata ir Dakaua|XXV: Dictata ir Dakaua]]''</ref> In spite of her assistance, one hundred and forty years later, the Ecumene was shattered, and over a thousand years later rendered completely extinct. Taox escaped again, the only survivor of their destruction.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXIX: Carved in Ruin|XXIX: Carved in Ruin]]''</ref>
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| At some point during or after the obliteration of the Ecumene, knowledge of Taox entered the group mind of the [[Vex]]; the [[Hydra]] [[Vex Mind]] [[Quria, Blade Transform]] used her information to create an imperfect simulation of Aurash in its final confrontation with the Taken King.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLIII: End of Failed Timeline|XLIII: End of Failed Timeline]]''</ref>
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| ===Legacy===
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| Taox's ultimate fate is unknown; she passed out of history after the destruction of the Ecumene, with Oryx mentioning her offhandedly to his son, [[Crota, Son of Oryx|Crota]],<ref name="Eater">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXXVI: Eater of Hope|XXXVI: Eater of Hope]]''</ref> and musing the possibility that she may have died without giving it much consideration.<ref name="Insight"/> Crota was not oath-bound to hunt and kill her, and in any event she was never found by the Hive.<ref name="Eater"/>
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| Her name has since entered into the Hive lexicon as a paradoxal term, ''entaoxuanna'', "the first doubt, the oldest doubt", an acknowledgement of Taox's teachings of the Krill's original philosophy the Timid Truth.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Witch]] - [[Lore]]: [[Lore#Lore entry|Lore:Sororicide#XI—Eris Morn—They Drink Strong Poison|XI—Eris Morn—They Drink Strong Poison]]''</ref>
| | Taox presumably ruled the Osmium Court until the King's daughters returned, transformed by the [[Worm]]s into Xivu Arath, Savathûn, and Auryx, the first Hive, and began spreading the Worms among the other proto-Hive to build an army. The nascent but powerful Hive forces recaptured the Osmium Court and took revenge on the Helium Drinkers, but Taox managed to escape to another kingdom, the Hydrogen Fountain.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#XI:_Conquerors|XI: Conquerors]]''</ref> The Hive's advance was inexorable, however, and Taox's Refusalist resistance was forced to continue retreating. Eventually, she traveled to Kaharn Atoll, where she attempted to marshal the myriad other species of Fundament to strike down the Hive. This plan failed: the Hive conquered Kaharn and slaughtered everyone there.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#XI:_Conquerors|XI: Conquerors]]''</ref> |
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| ==Personality and traits==
| | Once more escaping the Hive's grasp, Taox took a spaceship to the capital of the [[Ammonite]] civilization that ruled Fundament's 52 moons, and was granted asylum. The Hive followed, and began their conquest of the moons. A violent war followed that saw the Ammonite exterminated, but Taox had slipped away yet again.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#XII:_Out_of_the_Deep|XII: Out of the Deep]]''</ref> |
| Taox was held in high esteem by Xi Ro,<ref name="Predators"/><ref name="Syzygy"/> and likely by the other two daughters, in her position as tutor of the heirs. She was possessed of a strong sense of civic duty, even when that duty led to betrayal and murder, and a moral code that nonetheless haunted her when she transgressed it.<ref name="Hateful"/>
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| She also possessed qualities of leadership,<ref name="Deep"/> leading the peoples of the Osmium Court in the absence of the King and the royal daughters,<ref name="Sisters"/> and when her students returned to conquer the world she alone stood against them.<ref name="Conquerors"/><ref name="Deep"/> She was willing to impart any useful information to potential allies in the hopes that her mistakes would be halted, showing a willingness to work alongside others for the greater good.<ref name="Fifty-Two"/><ref name="Dakaua"/>
| | Approximately 24,000 years later, the [[Dakaua]] discovered a starship which held Taox in cryo-stasis at roughly the same time they and the other species of the [[Ecumene]] were dealing with a Hive invasion. Taox shared what she knew about the Hive's leaders and their overall motivations with Dakaua leadership, who passed the information on to the Ecumene. The Ecumene determined that the Hive had to be defeated by any means necessary, and embarked on a campaign of genocide using their most powerful weapons.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#XXV:_Dictata_ir_Dakaua|XXV: Dictata ir Dakaua]]''</ref> During this time, the [[Vex]] were able to create a simulation of the original Aurash, the first iteration of Oryx, which was based on attempted simulations of the Taken King and the information given to the Ecumene by Taox.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#XLIII:_End_of_Failed_Timeline|XLIII: End of Failed Timeline]]''</ref> In the end, however, Taox's aid was in vain; the Hive weathered these attacks and eventually annihilated every last trace of the Ecumene.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#XXIX:_Carved_in_Ruin|XXIX: Carved in Ruin]]''</ref> |
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| ==Trivia==
| | Taox fled yet again, the only survivor of the Hive's conquest. Although the Hive would continue hunting her, as Xivu Arath, Savathûn, and Oryx had sworn a blood oath to kill her, they lost track of her whereabouts.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books_of_Sorrow#XXIX:_Carved_in_Ruin|XXIX: Carved in Ruin]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness#Calcified_Fragments:_Insight|Calcified Fragments: Insight]]''</ref> Taox's fate is unknown. |
| *The origin of the [[OXA Machine]] (also known as OX[T]A) may lie with Taox. As discussed in the Lightfall Collector's Edition lore book ([[Beloved (lore)|Beloved]]) for Caiatl, Caiatl's name comes from "''the oldest myths in that archive''". The OXA is also said to "''record the story of the galaxy, and to prophesize what may yet come''" and "''the doomed and the damned left the record of their downfall in the OXA''".<ref>'''Bungie (2023/2/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Lightfall]] - [[Lore]]: [[Beloved (lore)#I am thirty-five years old.|I am thirty-five years old.]]''</ref> With this information, it can be surmised that Taox may have had a hand in creating a more permanent record of the Hive that other civilizations may come across, preparing them for an encounter, considering that Taox is unlikely to live forever as a pure-blood Krill.
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| ==List of appearances== | | ==List of appearances== |
| *''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]]'' {{Fm}} | | *''[[Destiny]]'' |
| *''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of Opulence]]'' {{Im}} | | **''[[The Taken King]]'' {{First mentioned}} |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
